To Be
by girl in the glen
Summary: Just how elemental is an element like Steel? Written for Element Flash on LJ.


It shouldn't have affected him like this, he was an element. The universe dictated that as such he was immune to the mundane ailments common to the human race.

And yet, here he was with his head in a vice and his stomach roiling with distress. The room had ceased its spinning only very recently, and as he looked from beneath leaden eyelids, the sight of Sapphire looking entirely too smug was a stinging reminder that he had, in a moment of weakness, wagered his upcoming week of respite on his arrogant claim that what affected the lesser species would not impair him.

He was wrong.

A fifth of whiskey consumed over a period of twelve hours (an obtuse and annoying number suggested by the obtuse and annoying Silver), had been the designated parameter for this experiment. Sitting here now, miserable and irrevocably certain that the human form was for him a punishment he had not merited by any behavior in his memory, Steel conceded that not even he could withstand the effects of alcohol when consumed in large quantities.

"Steel, I don't think I've ever seen anyone look quite so stricken. Are you certain that wasn't a bad batch?" Silver looked more smug than usual, more smug than even Sapphire if that were possible. At least his partner had the decency to exchange the smugness for a semblance of compassion as Steel moaned at the torture of trying to stand.

"It was the batch you gave me, so unless you orchestrated something beyond our agreement…" Sapphire reached towards him, guiding the other blond to a standing position; well, almost standing. He was leaning heavily against the wall of the room designated for experiments such as this. Elementals were not immune to curiosity, after all, and others had succumbed to the mysteries of the human experience.

"Well, I suppose we know what a hangover looks like after seeing you in this condition. Really Steel, I thought you might actually carry this off. I am slightly disappointed in you. On the other hand, perhaps you are more human than you wish to admit." Sapphire was smiling, charming him with her seemingly endless tranquility. Steel felt his head begin to ease from the invisible vice that had held it with such force; the ache and acrid feeling in his stomach also dissipated as he focused on her eyes, glowing now as she willed her partner to recover from the assault of the whiskey.

Silver shook his head, disappointed once again at the obvious connection between her and Steel. His human form was in concert with something entirely too elemental, by all standards. He watched as Steel regained his strength, morphing visibly from the wretchedness of being hungover to his stoic and steely self.

"Better?" Sapphire's smile was broader now, her affection mingled with the satisfaction of this little scenario.

"Yes, thank you…' Steel raised an eyebrow as he fixed his eyes on Sapphire. Why had she conspired with Silver to draw him into this meaningless display?

_Am I so in need of humiliation that you deemed this an acceptable way to properly put me in my place?_

_I have no inclination whatsoever to, as you say, 'put you in your place'. You sometimes need to understand their weaknesses, not just tolerate them._

Steel canted his head to one side, the only sign of his attempt to grasp what she was intending as an object lesson of some sort.

"And regarding this 'weakness', should I now have some type of empathy for them having experienced the result of stupidly consuming too much liquor? I have less tolerance than before that this occurs at all. I fear you and Silver have accomplished the opposite of what you intended."

Silver merely shook his head. Perhaps he and Sapphire were the anomaly in this environment. Steel seemed immune to compassion, perhaps himself the victim of his own nature.

"That's it then, I have someplace else I need to be. I shall see you later, Sapphire… Steel." And with that Silver turned and vanished into his next task.

"Are you cross with me?"

"No, not cross. Confused perhaps…' Steel looked around the room, the starkness of the space somehow in perfect alignment with his own sense of self.

"You would be better satisfied with me were I to be more like the humans. That is something I do not understand." There was something like distress in Steel's voice, betraying him and deepening the endearment that only Sapphire possessed.

"On the contrary, I depend on you to be you Steel. Now, regarding your week of respite, would you like to have it back?"

Steel was suspicious, but he did want it, needed it.

"How? Our agreement was …"

"I know what it was, but I am offering it back to you… on one condition." Steel had a moment of hesitation before asking the obvious.

"And what is the condition?" Sapphire felt her heart beat a little faster, if that were possible. She was only too happy to yield just a little to her human form.

"That we take our week together, in a place of my choosing, and just enjoy it for the sake of enjoyment."

Steel willed himself to not resist, to not disdain Sapphire's wishes. Perhaps he wasn't quite human, but contrary to what others assumed about him his affection for her was as intrinsic to his being as the hard edges of his personality.

He didn't answer immediately, there was no point in appearing eager.

"Very well, I accept your terms. Just don't expect too much of me, Sapphire. I may have failed to avoid a drunken hangover, but…"

"No expectations, Steel. We will take our respite and simply be."

Sapphire reached out and took Steel's hand in hers, relishing the safety of being in its grasp. To simply be… They would find out what that meant for them.


End file.
